China-made Teslas pour into Canada

Industry players urge PM to follow U.S., raise tariffs

- MONIQUE MULIMA AND THOMAS SEAL

The administration of President Joe Biden is quadrupling US. tariffs on electric vehicles manufactured in China.

But Chinese-made cars are still finding their way into a receptive North American market - just to the north.

Canada is seeing a surge of imports of Chinese-made EVs, particularly Tesla Inc. models made in Shanghai. The number of cars arriving from China at the port of Vancouver rose more than five-fold last year to 44,400 after Elon Musk's automaker started shipping Model Y vehicles made there.

The situation is drawing howls of protest from some auto-industry players who want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow the White House and do more to protect the domestic industry.

Canada imposes only a small tariff on Chinese-made vehicles - about 6 per cent. It also allows consumers to tap a federal rebate program when they buy foreign-manufactured EVs.

Since Tesla started exporting from its Shanghai factory last year, many purchasers have begun using that incentive.